To the Edge of the Stars
by CSIBuckeye
Summary: Written for the Geekfiction Smutathon '08. My take on Sara's return.


Title: To the Edge of the Stars

Author: CSIBuckeye

Rating: NC-17/M…it is for the Smutathon

Pairing: GSR

Spoilers: Through current Season 8

Prompt: To the Edge of the Stars

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, no infringement intended or money made.

A/N: Special thanks to D for talking me into doing this in the first place…wait, is thanks the word I was looking for? Oh well, it will have to do I suppose. You're the best!

His eyes snapped open, the vague contentedness of sleep replaced by a suddenly pounding heart and the acrid taste of bile rising in his throat as he stared at the empty pillow next to him. No. Throwing the covers back, he pulled on his jeans from the day before and made his way quickly through the silent house. Bathroom? No. Office? No. His heart raced as he sped up his search. Kitchen? Den? Please, God. But just as his shoulders began to sag in defeat, he caught the tiniest wisp of movement from the backyard. Blinking his eyes several times just to be sure, he blew out a relieved sigh and eased through the sliding glass doors. She really was there, she was home.

As Sara looked up at the brilliant night sky she wondered how many nights Grissom had stood in this very spot, pondering his place in the universe while she was gone. "They're more beautiful here than they are anywhere else," she said pulling the blanket more tightly around her shoulders, surprised that she had forgotten how much the temperature changed after dark.

The cool night air blowing along his bare arms and chest left goose bumps in its wake, but the shiver that ran through his body had nothing to do with the temperature. "I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars."

"That's beautiful," she said, turning to face him.

"Those are just words." He padded barefoot across the deck, his body drawn to hers by a need born of too many nights spent apart, "You are truly beautiful." Fighting down the urge to shout his thanks to whatever power had returned her to his life, he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly to him.

She slid gratefully into his embrace, but before she could lose herself in the perfection of being back in his arms, she realized he was trembling. She pulled away to look up at him and found fear etched plainly on his face. "I'm so sorry," she said, shame burning through her with the realization that she had truly frightened him, "You were sleeping so peacefully, and I just didn't want to wake-"

He silenced her rambling with a whisper of a kiss, "No apologies." He had dreamed her home and then awakened to emptiness so many times while she was gone that part of him still couldn't believe this was real. But the past was just that, and he had his eyes set firmly on their future. "You're here now, and that is all that's important."

His words wrapped themselves around her and she blinked back the tears that welled up in her eyes. When she'd left, she wasn't sure she would ever find her way back. Yet here she was, in no small part due to the power of his words. Phone calls, texts and e-mails, had let her know she was never far from his thoughts. He knew her as no one else ever would, loved her as no one else ever could. And as she opened her blanket in silent invitation, she was secure in the knowledge that no matter the severity of the storm, she would always be safe within the shelter of his arms.

His eyes skimmed over the long lines of her body, the moonlight just enough to reveal that she wore nothing under the blanket. He sighed as he stepped into her embrace, finding the solace he so desperately needed in the slide of her skin against his. Lifting his hands he ran his fingertips slowly up her sides, smiling as she squirmed under his touch. As he slid his hands around her back, he pulled her in even closer, and when his eyes met hers he found both the pony tailed girl who'd challenged his intellect and the confident woman who'd captured his heart. He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat, realizing just how close he'd come to losing them both forever.

"I'm here," she whispered, knowing exactly where his thoughts took him. She lifted her hand to run her fingers over the neatly trimmed beard covering his cheeks, not really surprised that he'd grown it back in her absence; since she was the reason he'd shaved it off in the first place. Not that she'd wanted him to. On the contrary, but he'd thought it was ridiculous for her to have to wear scarves in the middle of the desert, so the beard had been sacrificed. She'd almost forgotten how much she loved the feel of the short soft hairs under her fingers, against her cheek, and between her thighs.

He closed his eyes, giving himself to the feel of her fingers dancing over his face and her warm body pressed against his. Her hand trailed down his jaw line to the cleft in his chin and as he started to smile, he felt her thumb tickle lightly over his lips. Kissing her fingertip he let his tongue taste the saltiness of her skin before drawing it deeper into his mouth. The low groan that slipped from the back of her throat went straight to his groin, and he matched it with one of his own. As he released her finger and opened his eyes, he was stunned by the depth of feeling she could elicit in him with just the simplest of touches.

Even in the darkness, perhaps then more than ever, Sara was aware of the intensity of his emotions. She could see the desire plainly in the heaviness of his eyelids, hear it in the hitch in his breathing and feel it in the rapid rise and fall of his chest against hers. Her senses were so in tune with his, so exquisitely heightened in the moment that she realized what a dulled state of existence she'd been in while she was away. The pain she'd worked through every day had let her know she was alive, but it wasn't until she was back in his arms that she remembered what it felt like to actually live. With a small smile of gratitude she leaned in and brought her lips gently to his, taking one more step back to life.

He moaned as she traced her tongue lightly over his bottom lip, the electricity of her touch coursing through his body, and he felt his control slipping away. Groaning he deepened the kiss, engaging her in a dance as erotic as anything he'd ever known. He backed her up against the rail that ran the perimeter of the deck and pressed his pelvis against her, leaving no doubt about the effect she had on him.

The hard ridge of his arousal against her center felt so right, she ground into him with a desire that surprised them both. Unable to deny herself any longer, she let go of the blanket with one hand and reached down to stroke him through the rough denim of his jeans. "These need to go," she said as she unbuttoned the pants in one swift movement.

"Then let's go back in." He traced his thumb along her arm as he pulled the blanket back up around her bare shoulder. But the sight of her skin was too inviting and he couldn't resist nipping lightly at the base of her neck before soothing it with his tongue again and again. And he realized that even in a thousand lifetimes, he would never tire of this, never get enough.

A shiver of anticipation rushed through her as she sighed softly, her world shrinking until it consisted of only the two of them, only his touch. His beard lightly scratched and tickled along her delicate skin, just the right combination of sweet and rough, pleasure and pain as it drove her towards oblivion.

Feeling her writhe against him was sweet torture, but even he had his limits. "Come on," he said, pulling her away from the rail. He led her across the deck toward the door, but halfway there she tugged him into the deeper shadows along the side of the deck. Resisting for the briefest fraction of a second, he was faintly aware of their location but not willing to consider anything except how much he needed to be inside her, truly understanding that while other things filled his hours, only Sara filled his life.

Backing him against the teak chaise she simply said, "Please?" Somehow it was important to make love to him right here, under the vast night sky with no boundaries, no secrets, no limitations.

He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing his assent, all too aware that he would have done anything she asked. Feeling her hands work his jeans down, he realized she couldn't still be holding the blanket, and he opened his eyes to the stunning form of the woman he loved. She was always beautiful to him, but in this moment she was no less than magnificent and he felt a little unworthy in her presence. But at her urging, he stepped out of the jeans, noting that he could no longer feel the cold at all, only the heat of her hands as they ran up his calves and over his thighs.

She knelt on the deck in front of him, her eyes raking over his body before reaching for his hand and pulling him down to sit on the end of the cushioned deck chair. Fingers grazing lightly over his skin, she traced a path up his arms and back down his chest, smiling as she felt him quiver under her touch. She could almost taste the anticipation emanating from him and she licked her lips as she leaned forward.

His head lolled back as she sucked his earlobe into her hot mouth, her hands never stilling their travels over his body. His cock twitched as her fingers made their way up his inner thigh, and he gave a frustrated groan when she circled back down his legs instead, her nails scratching lightly as they went. The feel of her everywhere but the one place he really needed her was enough to rob his lungs of air. And when he was finally able to suck in a ragged breath, it was to allow him only one word, "Sara."

Hearing the husky plea in her name, Sara pulled back from his neck to bring her lips back to his, kissing him with every ounce of desire she'd built up while she was gone. She slid her hand from his thigh to his rigid shaft, wrapping her fingers around him and stroking firmly even as her other hand moved between her own legs. Sliding her fingers into her wet folds, she closed her eyes, letting the feelings carry her away.

Grissom moaned against her mouth as he felt the heat of her hand finally encircle him and he couldn't help the thrust of his hips in response. Trailing kisses to her neck, he nipped the sensitive spot below her ear, rubbing his bristled cheek against her smooth skin. Letting his hands wander down to her breasts, he pinched her nipples lightly between his fingers, feeling the rise and fall of her chest stop momentarily as her breath caught. He was surprised when she pulled back from him suddenly, severing their physical connection, but when he locked eyes with her, he was stunned by the desire he saw reflected there.

"Scoot back," she said, every millimeter of skin that he'd touched was on fire, and her only thought was to fan the flames until they engulfed them both. When Grissom had moved himself back into a reclining position on the chair, Sara crawled slowly up his body, licking a path as she went. She straddled him on the chair and just before joining them together, she met his eyes, "I love you."

Bringing his hands to her hips, he lowered her slowly onto his hard cock, "I love you," he said, never breaking their gaze. He held her still, enjoying the feeling of utter completeness that washed over him every time he was buried inside her. It was a feeling of belonging, and he knew in these moments that he was part of something infinite and beautiful, something that had been worth every minute of pain he suffered in her absence. And when she started moving, slowly rocking her hips against his, she erased any of the fears and insecurities that still lingered.

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she could lift herself almost completely off of him before plunging all the way back down. The sensation of being filled had never been so powerful, and she knew it was because finally, for the first time, her life itself was full. She had managed to put her past to rest, returning to the only home she'd ever known and the only man she'd ever loved. There had been a measure of uncertainty in her mind about the welcome that would be waiting for her, knowing that her departure had been as hard on him as it was on her. But the vaguely unfamiliar weight around the fourth finger of her left hand served as a constant reminder that whatever their future held, they would face the rest together. And with that knowledge came the ability to let everything else go, to exist only in this moment, only in this feeling.

Grissom felt the change immediately as the tension slipped from her body leaving her open and vulnerable before him. And he recognized this for the ultimate show of trust that it was as Sara gave herself to him without holding back, without hiding and without the fear of reproach. He leaned up and kissed her softly, knowing that somehow she could feel all the love and gratitude he held in his heart. Working his way down her chest, he brought his mouth to one of her nipples, circling it with his tongue. And as the crisp night air caressed her, he blew a warm breath over it before sucking it gently into his mouth. Her groan made him ache with the need for release, but he moved to the other nipple, giving it the same attention.

Her mouth fell open and she ran her hands through his hair, pressing him closer even as she arched into his mouth. But as wonderful as he was making her feel, it wasn't enough, she needed more. Reaching down she guided his hand to her clit, pressing his fingers exactly where she needed them, as she rolled her hips, frantically seeking her release. And then there it was, so close she could feel it in every cell of her body. She teetered on the edge momentarily and then collapsed over it, not even aware that Grissom's name echoed through the night.

Continuing to circle her clit, he watched her come undone, knowing he'd never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. He listened to the incoherent words spilling from her and deciphered them with ease. She loved him and she was home for good. That was all it took for him to let go, and with a loud moan he exploded inside her, pumping his hips until he was completely spent.

She fell against his chest, their ragged breathing falling in sync as they found their way slowly back to reality. Pushing herself up she kissed his chest, licking a path to his mouth before kissing him with everything she had left to tell him. He scooted over to make room on the chair and she rolled off to his side, draping her leg over his.

He reached down for the blanket, finding it on the deck beside the chair, and pulled it up to cover them both. Staring up at the sky, he knew that being without her had made him see just how bright she made his life and how empty it had been while she was gone. She had long ago become the air he breathed, the source of his sustenance, the very beat of his heart. "I know why the stars are more beautiful here," he said softly.

Turning her head to look at his face half illuminated in the moonlight, "Why?"

"Because you had to make it through the deepest, darkness of your life to get back here to see them."

She leaned up to press her lips softly to his cheek. "The whole time I was gone though I knew," she brought her eyes to his, "If I could somehow make it beyond the darkness, you'd be there waiting for me, right at the edge of the stars."

END

A/N : The quote Grissom uses "I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars" is by Og Mandino


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